We are happy to see Facebook take a positive step forward in its approach to gender diversity!

For the first time, Facebook users can now select a custom gender setting for their profiles, including the option of assigning the pronoun you feel comfortable with. It’s amazing how something so small will impact so many people.

To see for ourselves, we logged into Facebook and found the settings under About ➙ Basic Information ➙ Gender. From there you are given the option of selecting ‘Custom,’ which then allows you to write in manually how you perceive your gender. Beneath that, you can select the neutral pronoun ‘them’ rather than the traditional ‘him’ or ‘her’.

Masen Davis, Executive Director of Transgender Law Center, commented on the new Facebook custom gender setting:

“…People who do not fit narrow gender stereotypes may have complex identities that they wish to express. Many transgender people will be thrilled to learn that Facebook now has a tool to ensure the appropriate pronouns are used across the platform, including third-party interactions. We applaud Facebook for making it possible for people to be their authentic selves online, and we are honored to be in the Network of Support that will continue to help Facebook improve this functionality…” Source: Transgender Law Center

We are proud of Facebook for taking the issue of gender diversity seriously, enabling transgender or gender-queer individuals to equally express their identities on the social network.

About the Rebel Mix

The Rebel Mix is an online magazine that curates and comments on important and thought provoking content from around the web. It is a mix of articles, pushing readers to reevaluate and rebel against conventional ways of thinking. We provide a platform for a random mix of authors who are opinionated and want their voice to be heard.